


In Too Deep

by RisemboolRanger



Category: Witch Hunter Robin
Genre: Action, Dark, Drama, F/M, Fantasy, Romance, Supernatural - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-12-01
Updated: 2014-01-23
Packaged: 2017-11-20 00:10:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/579141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RisemboolRanger/pseuds/RisemboolRanger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The STN-J are having to branch out on their cases when they start to realise there are things out there that are a lot worse than witches. Can they cope against what they thought to be creatures of myth? Takes place after the series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Keeping The Secret

Ryou Kazuya was happy to be back in Japan. Not only had she been living back at her home again for the last week; she was also starting back at her old job today.

She’d been working at the STN-J for just over a year when she’d been transferred to an overseas case, since her older sister had been an integral part of the witch hunting that had been going on over there. The case had been solved and Ryou had taken a few extra jobs whilst she was over there, happy to be with her sister. She’d eventually gotten a call from the STN-J – who had kept her job open for her, since they were the ones who had referred her overseas in the first place – asking for her return.

Ryou had been more than happy to oblige. She missed her home life and working at the STN-J. But she knew things were going to be different there this time. The chief inspector Kosaka had already informed her that she’d likely have a different partner than before, since they’d been making some changes within the branch.

Ryou didn’t mind. She’d gotten to know a few people at the STN-J and as far as she knew, most of them were still working there. She wasn’t particularly bothered over who she got partnered with. She was just happy to be back at her home branch.

Sure enough, Ryou was assailed by the chief inspector Kosaka the moment she entered the main building of the STN-J. He gave her a brisk ‘welcome back’ before directing her into a nearby office. She was met by two men she’d never seen before.

“Kazuya, this is our new administrator Katsuki Gozabora and his son, Shinpei,” Kosaka introduced them, not bothering with niceties. “Shinpei runs a preternatural investigative group, which the administrator plans on affiliating with the STN-J.”

“So you investigate witches?” Ryou asked the younger of the two men uncertainly.

“Oh, there’s a lot more out there than just witches,” replied Shinpei. He had a distinctly average appearance and maybe wasn’t as old as he looked, but he gave off an aura of being extremely intelligent. “Witch hunting is but a minor chunk of what forces like the STN should be undertaking.”

“Of course, we’re not going to be starting on this just yet,” added Kosaka hastily. “We’re going to announce the new teams shortly, which you’ll all need to get used to first. We just wanted to give you a heads up of the plans we have for the company.”

Ryou nodded along enthusiastically. She had a keen interest in anything to do with the paranormal world, so this sounded right up her street. Hunting something other than witches – and something more unknown – made the job sound even more exciting.

Administrator Gozabora proceeded to give her more of a rundown of what Shinpei’s investigative group involved and encouraged her to come to either of them with any suggestions or questions she’d have in the future.

“Well, that’s all for now,” announced Kosaka. “Let’s go and find the rest of the team so I can tell you all about the new partnerships you’ll be working in.”

“I’ve come back at the right time then, haven’t I?” asked Ryou as her and the chief inspector headed down towards the conference room.

“Well, actually we needed to know we had you coming back before we could really start considering the affiliation with Shinpei’s preternatural investigations,” said Kosaka.

“What do you mean?”

“Without including you, we only had three hunters in our team,” explained Kosaka. “Taking on hunts for beings other than witches is bound to be even more dangerous than usual, especially since you won’t be able to rely on Orbo for protection. So we can’t have hunters running off on their own. We needed an even amount of members that we could split into pairs.”

“So do you reckon two teams of two will be enough to take on these extra cases?” Ryou questioned.

“For now, it will have to be,” replied Kosaka. “We’re going to look into getting some hunters transferred from other STN branches, but we’ll have to make do until then.”

They’d finally reached the conference room. Ryou stepped aside, allowing the chief inspector to enter first, then followed him through the door to find a few familiar faces.

She already knew Miho Karasuma, now team leader, and the technical expert Michael Lee quite well from her time at the STN-J before. She was familiar with Yurika Dójima, a D-class hunter like herself, though she hadn’t had much to do with her. Yurika never seemed to have been in the building much. She didn’t know the other boy who was sat with them.

“I’m sure most of you remember Ryou Kazuya,” said Kosaka.

“Welcome back,” Miho greeted Ryou warmly as she sat down beside her.

“This is one of our newest hunters – Haruto Sakaki,” Kosaka explained to Ryou, indicating the young, dark-haired boy sat next to Michael.

“Nice to meet you,” Haruto said politely.

“You too,” replied Ryou.

“Now, let’s get down to business...” said Kosaka professionally. “I know you’ve all been waiting for me to announce the new teams, so there’s no sense in beating around the bush now that you’re all here.”

Ryou returned her attention to their chief inspector, impressed by his business-like manner. He seemed to have grown a lot more than when she’d last seen him. Back then, he’d been grouchy, fairly unprofessional and unwilling to take on too much responsibility. But it appeared he’d improved greatly since then. Ryou wondered what had brought about the personality change and couldn’t help thinking about what she must have missed while she’d been working overseas. And what had happened to Amon, their old team leader? Was he even still working here?

“We’ll start with you, Dójima,” Kosaka continued, addressing the blonde girl directly. “Your parents may be very high up in the company, but now that you’re a full-time hunter, it won’t excuse tardiness any longer.”

Yurika was known for showing up to the office notoriously late, lazing around the place and ditching work to go shopping. Because her parents had such an important status, she could get away with it. But Kosaka was right – she couldn’t do that when she had the responsibility of being part of a full-time witch hunting team.

“Based on that, you’ll be paired with Karasuma from now on,” announced Kosaka. “I’m hoping that as team leader, she’ll have the best chance of keeping you in check.”

Yurika seemed pleased with that decision – she already got on well with Miho. Ryou thought it was a good plan. She’d been working with Miho herself when she’d been at this branch and she knew that she made a professional and very skilled partner.

“So, Kazuya, you’ll be with Sakaki,” continued Kosaka, almost with a grimace. He didn’t seem too happy about it, more like he was resigned to the decision. Ryou was bewildered. Did that mean Haruto wasn’t a very good hunter? Or maybe it was her who he didn’t think to be skilled enough.

“Just... try to follow the rules,” Kosaka added grudgingly.

Ryou knew that was aimed at her, which she found a little unfair. She was generally pretty good at sticking to protocol. Okay, there’d been a couple of times where she’d rushed into things without thinking, but only a couple. Honest.

“And that’s all I needed to discuss,” concluded Kosaka. “You can all go back to work now. As usual, you’ll be notified when we have cases available.”

Suitably dismissed, the hunters all rose from their seats and headed back to the main office. Michael took his usual place at the most high-tech computer whilst the others milled about collecting up reports to work on.

“So where’s Amon?” asked Ryou as they all settled down. “Does he still work here or did he move to another branch?”

She knew automatically that she’d asked something they’d obviously been hoping she wouldn’t. Miho and Yurika exchanged uneasy glances, whilst the boys pointedly looked in other directions.

Miho was left to answer her. “Amon’s... gone.”

“Gone where?” asked Ryou, completely nonplussed. But as she registered Miho’s expression. she finally understood. “But wait... You mean he’s... dead?”

Nobody answered. Ryou was completely shocked. Why had nobody told her about this? And how could they all seem so blasé about it? Amon had been their team leader. They’d worked alongside him for a long time. Surely that must count for something?

When there was still no reply from any of them, Ryou slowly turned her attention to the report in front of her, feeling shocked and upset. Not to mention confused. Why didn’t anyone seem to care about Amon? She heard wheels grind along the floor as somebody pushed their chair over towards her and slipped a note onto her desk.

Ryou turned and gave Haruto a curious glance, but he pointedly kept his back to her. She looked up around the office, but everyone else was now busying themselves with their own work, not paying attention.

She looked down at the note in front of her. It said, ‘ _Amon’s not dead. He disappeared._ ’

Feeling even more confused and annoyed that she was so clearly out of the loop, Ryou snatched a pen from the stationary unit and scribbled underneath Haruto’s message, ‘ _What do you mean, he disappeared?_ ’

She slid it along the desk in front of her new partner, who was still purposely looking away from her. He read the note, however, and added a reply, which he then pushed back towards her.

‘ _It’s for his own protection._ ’

Ryou stared down at the note in front of her. Was he saying that Amon had faked his own death? She couldn’t imagine a situation so bad that Amon had needed to bail out that way. But she knew that from everyone’s reactions, it must be true. That was why they were all being so vague about it – it had to be kept a secret.

‘ _Who here knows about it?_ ’ Ryou pushed her reply back along the desk, eagerly anticipating the next one.

‘ _Everybody._ ’

Ryou frowned. If everyone at the STN-J knew that Amon wasn’t really dead, then why were they all trying to keep it hushed up? It wasn’t like they were being watched... Or was it?

She hurriedly scribbled her question down onto the paper. ‘ _Are we being watched?_ ’

Haruto’s next reply made her stomach turn unpleasantly. ‘ _We’ve already been infiltrated once. It could happen again._ ’

Ryou felt even more out of the loop. What had she missed while she’d been gone, she thought to herself for what felt like the millionth time. The STN-J had been infiltrated already... What the hell had happened here?

She flipped the paper over and scrawled out another note on the back. ‘ _Tell me more._ ’

Unfortunately, she got the answer she’d been expecting. ‘ _Not now._ ’

Ryou felt irritated again, but she understood. Whatever had gone down must have been big to have forced Amon into hiding. Too much to put into a simple note. She noticed that Haruto was watching her this time, so she gave him a quick nod before stuffing the note into her pocket. She was going to burn it at the first chance she got.

**XXX**

Once they were aware that Ryou now understood the situation with Amon, the hunters all took it in turns, whenever they were sure they were safe, to fill her in on what had happened while she’d been gone.

Apparently, their old administrator Zaizen had turned out to be the enemy. He’d started hunting a fire-wielding witch hunter called Robin, who’d been working alongside Amon, believing her to be a witch since she was a craft-user. He’d had Miho kidnapped for the same reason, as she had the ability to determine details about a person’s death by using a type of clairvoyance.

During Zaizen’s hunt, he’d also directed an attack against Haruto, for reasons unknown. When the STN-J had rescued Miho, they’d found out that he was commandeering the witches that they’d managed to apprehend by humane means and had been using their blood to try and create a more powerful form of Orbo – a substance the hunters used to protect themselves against the majority of witch’s powers.

“So why did they attack you?” Ryou asked Haruto yet again, one night whilst they were out on a hunt. “You’re not a craft-user like Miho or this Robin girl so it makes no sense.”

“I’ve told you I don’t know,” replied Haruto impatiently. “Come on, Miss Kazuya, we’re a little busy here.”

“Yeah, okay. And I’ve told you to call me Ryou,” she chastised him.

Haruto was surprisingly polite and always referred to the older members of the STN-J in a very formal manner. He was a year younger than Ryou, so she was also included in this. But she didn’t like being called ‘Miss’. It made her feel old. So to push aside Haruto’s manners, she’d been trying to persuade him to call her by her first name. Unfortunately, it was taking him a while to grasp that concept and he kept slipping up.

She’d also learnt why Kosaka had seemed so reluctant to team them together. Haruto could be quite hot-headed and tended to make rash decisions. Far more than Ryou did. But the good side of it was that she made sure she stuck to the rules even more than usual, as she tried to keep her partner from getting into trouble.

Sure enough, Haruto was more interested in taking action than worrying about the consequences. “The coast seems clear – I’m going in.” 

“Wait a second, Haruto!” protested Ryou, but Haruto had already disappeared into the warehouse. “Oh, for heaven’s sake!”

She grudgingly followed him inside, keeping her Orbo gun at the ready. A voice buzzed through on her earpiece, making her jump. “Get Haruto to put his com-link on. He’s turned it off again.”

“I would if I could find him,” Ryou grumbled to Michael, who was sat safe and sound back at the STN-J headquarters.

Michael was good friends with Haruto, but even he couldn’t keep him in check. He was also the only one besides Ryou who called Haruto by his first name. Ryou had gotten lax on sticking to Japanese customs while she’d been abroad and generally called everyone, apart from the big bosses at work, by their given names.

Ryou kept to the shadows once she was inside the warehouse. She felt on edge. They’d been given quite a tricky case. Akito Tajiri, the witch they were currently tracking, had the ability to create minor illusions – enough to be able to change his own appearance or even the appearance of someone else.

Akito was very sly and had found out far too much about the STN. He had even managed to break into the building and steal paperwork on some of the hunters, whilst disguised as Kosaka’s secretary, Hatori. Ryou didn’t like the fact that the enemy was likely to have information on her and her colleagues. They didn’t know all of what had been taken, so it was all just down to guesswork on what he knew about them.

She heard something crack in her blind spot. She whirled around to find Haruto behind her, gun raised. Relieved, she opened her mouth to comment on how he’d scared her, but nothing happened.

She couldn’t move her face. It felt like pressure was pushing down on her, paralysing her. What was happening?

Someone appeared out of the shadows. Haruto didn’t seem to have noticed. Ryou tried to warn him, but she still couldn’t even open her mouth. Then the figure moved into full view and shock shot through Ryou’s body. She was looking at _herself_.

For one wild moment, she thought she’d gone crazy. Then she understood. Akito had used his ability to make himself look like her, providing him with a safe disguise. So did that mean he was also using his power on her? Did it involve rendering the person incapable of moving so that they wouldn’t break the illusion?

Ryou’s stomach turned over as she realised that Haruto’s gun was now pointing in her face. She knew what that meant. Akito had created an illusion to make her to look like him. Haruto thought _she_ was the enemy.

Orbo bullets were designed to prevent a witch from using their powers. Ryou didn’t know what effect they’d have on a human, but she didn’t want to find out. She was pretty sure it was still going to hurt, witch or not. Still unable to move, she couldn’t even close her eyes. She was forced to stare down the barrel of the gun in pained silence.

“Do it, Sakaki,” ordered the fake Ryou. It was disturbing to hear her voice coming from someone else. “Before he tries to use his power on us.”

Ryou felt a scream build up in her throat, that she knew wouldn’t come out, as she watched Haruto’s finger tighten on the trigger. Then, in one abrupt movement, he’d whirled round and shot the fake Ryou beside him.

Akito’s power lifted instantly and Ryou was suddenly able to move again. She gasped and staggered, the fear still prominent in her chest. Akito was now rolling around on the floor in pain.

“Sorry, but you gave yourself away,” Haruto told him almost cheerfully, prodding the fallen witch with his boot. “Miss Kazuya has never called me Sakaki. She always calls me by my first name.”

“You should take a leaf out of my book,” said Ryou ruefully, bristling at the ‘Miss’ comment again. She could feel the panic finally starting to subside. She wasn’t going to get shot – her partner knew better than that.

“Hey, if I do that now, you might think I’m an imposter and shoot me,” said Haruto with a grin.

“How about I shoot you every time you call me Miss Kazuya instead?” Ryou suggested helpfully.

Haruto laughed. “Is this some weird behavioural psychology? Because if it is, I don’t like it.”

“Tough. I do,” Ryou joked, grinning. “And I always carry an extra handgun with _real_ bullets, so just be grateful I’m not threatening you with that.”


	2. In Too Deep

Ryou’s life seemed to fall into a routine again. She loved that. Having her days already organised for her made everything so much easier.

Plus she was so happy to be back at the STN-J. She’d missed her old co-workers and Haruto was proving to be a good partner, if a little hasty. She’d even managed to get him to stop calling her ‘miss’. He was still calling her Kazuya, but that was an improvement – most people tended to call her that anyway. Was anybody ever going to just call her Ryou?

“So what have we got this time?” Haruto wheeled his chair across the floor so that he could look over Ryou’s shoulder at the papers she was going through for their next case.

“Domeki Watanabe, thirty-three years old,” Ryou read aloud. “Currently on the run, but has started making more appearances recently and giving away his cover. His craft is water control.”

“Oh. That sounds kinda boring,” said Haruto, sounding uninterested.

Ryou understood his disappointment. They hadn’t really had any interesting cases lately – Kosaka seemed to have been giving all of the good ones to Miho and Yurika. She was pretty sure it was punishment because Haruto kept forgetting to switch on his com-link whilst on duty. No matter how much she nagged him for it, the message still didn’t seem to sink in.

“Maybe it won’t be so bad,” Ryou reassured, pointing out one of the sections to him. “Look, it says that Orbo may not be entirely effective against his powers.”

Orbo was a substance that was particularly effective against witches and generally provided the hunters with good protection from craft-users. It came to something when they didn’t actually _want_ it to work, in order to make their cases a little more interesting.

Ryou was sure she hadn’t been quite so rash before. Some of Haruto’s recklessness was definitely rubbing off on her.

“That’s true,” agreed Haruto, brightening up. “So does this mean we get to use something other than Orbo guns?”

“No, it means _I_ get to use something other than an Orbo gun,” Ryou corrected him. “You’re not licensed to carry a gun with real bullets, so you don’t get anything.”

“You treat me like a kid sometimes,” Haruto grumbled.

“You act like a kid sometimes,” Ryou retorted, though she couldn’t help grinning. He was so easy to wind up at times. He may have only been a year younger than her, but at times, it really showed.

Haruto ignored her jibe. “I have got to get licensed to carry a real gun...”

“You won’t,” said Ryou, seriously this time. “Kosaka won’t allow it. I got my license instated while I was abroad – Japan’s a lot more uptight about it.”

“Then in that case, I’ve definitely gotta get transferred abroad,” said Haruto.

“What, and miss out on all the fun around here?” interrupted Miho, who was sat opposite them with Yurika. They were looking through papers on a new case of their own.

“That’s easy for you to say. You’re the ones who are getting all the interesting cases,” Haruto complained.

“Well, that’s because we’re not the ones who suck,” Yurika teased.

“Hey, don’t judge me along with him. I always keep my com-link on,” Ryou pointed out.

“So you’re all just gonna gang up on me?” Haruto protested.

“Haven’t you ever heard of how girls always stick together?” Yurika laughed.

“What I wouldn’t give for another guy hunter...” Haruto grumbled.

His words were followed by an awkward silence as everyone remembered that they’d already had another male hunter on the team. But Amon was long gone now. And he wasn’t coming back.

Ryou was the first to hastily break the silence. “Aww, but then you wouldn’t have me for a partner,” she joked, giving Haruto’s arm a playful punch. “And then you’d be _really_ bored!”

Haruto suddenly grinned, the awkward atmosphere successfully broken. “Yeah, right. If I transferred, I might be able to actually get in on the action more.”

“Well, maybe if you remembered to keep your com-link on, I’d let you take point and you’d be able to do that here.”

They were still shooting banter back and forth when Michael interrupted them from across the room. “Hey, did you two just say you got assigned that Watanabe guy from Yamanote?”

“Yeah, how come?” asked Haruto, sitting up straighter in his chair.

“I just got some hot tip come up about him,” explained Michael, his eyes scanning the computer screen in front of him. “Apparently, he’s been involved with some shipping company that have been carrying out illegal shipments from Kobuto harbour over the past week.”

Ryou and Haruto looked at each other. “Illegal shipments down on the harbour?” Ryou repeated interestedly.

“Like drug dealers or something? Too cool!” enthused Haruto. “I guess this case won’t be so bad after all.”

“Agreed,” said Ryou. “Looks like we know what we’re gonna be doing tonight.”

**XXX**

It was cold and damp down on the harbour. Ryou huddled ruefully into her coat. She’d changed her mind – she did want a different case after all. Preferably one indoors. Or at least somewhere warm and dry. Couldn’t they have been assigned to a fire craft user instead?

“Robin was a fire user,” said Haruto, after Ryou had voiced her last thought aloud. He was referring to another hunter who had joined the STN-J after Ryou had transferred and had then disappeared along with Amon. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of two craft users having the same craft.”

“Kill the dream, why don’t ya?” said Ryou, much more lightly than she felt.

After hours of research, and the added help of Michael’s hacking skills, they’d managed to gage an estimated time that their witch would be receiving an overseas shipment on the harbour, which they planned to intercept. But Ryou felt a little uneasy. They were trying to do this in the worst location possible, considering Domeki’s craft. They were surrounded by endless amounts of water that he could use as a weapon and they couldn’t even rely on Orbo for protection. Maybe they really were out of their depth on this one.

“Come on. We’d better go and take up positions,” said Ryou, after checking her watch. “Our witch should be showing up soon.”

They’d agreed already that Haruto would stay out of sight right out on the pier end of the harbour, scoping out the situation and staying ready to jump in as backup, if needed. Ryou would remain closer to the boathouse in order to confront Domeki directly, further away from the body of water that he could use against them.

“Let me be point this time,” said Haruto suddenly. Ryou looked at him in surprise. “Come on, you know I can do it as well as you can!”

So far, Ryou had taken on the more dangerous roles in all of their cases, much preferring to put herself in danger rather than anyone else. But she had to concede that she wasn’t in charge. They were supposed to be partners. Equals. She couldn’t keep making all of the decisions – it wasn’t really fair.

“Okay,” she agreed, trying not to sound reluctant. That would hardly be a confidence boost for him. She had to let him take the lead eventually. “If you think you can keep your com-link on.”

“Deal!” said Haruto happily, pointedly flicking the switch on the communications device that was clipped to his ear. “Let’s get started then!”

“Just be careful,” said Ryou.

Haruto rolled his eyes at her. “I’m always careful. Don’t nag.”

“Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it,” Ryou muttered to herself as he headed off towards the boathouse. She started down in the direction of the pier. “Tell me when you’re in position,” she said through her own com-link. There was no reply. She tapped the earpiece impatiently. “Haruto, can you hear me?”

“His com-link’s off,” Michael’s voice came over the intercom helpfully. As usual, he was safe back at headquarters.

“But he just turned it on. I saw him do it,” Ryou protested.

“Would you believe he already had it on in the first place? He clearly forgot and when you told him to turn it on, he switched it back off instead.” Michael sounded quite amused by the whole thing.

“Oh, son of a... What an idiot!” Ryou groaned. Always careful. Yeah, right.

Well, it was too late now. She’d very stupidly let Haruto take point. Now she just had to hope they could handle things without being able to communicate with each other. Urgh, and how likely was that going to be?

Either way, there wasn’t anything she could do right now if she didn’t want to risk blowing their cover. She just had to stay out of sight and wait, like she was supposed to. Like Haruto was originally supposed to before she’d agreed to change the plan.

Why had she agreed to change the plan? She should have just said no. If she had, then she certainly wouldn’t have been standing on the end of a freezing cold pier, feeling like a giant ball of stress. God, what she’d give for a smoke right now. It was a habit she’d cut years ago, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t still miss it. And it was times like this, when she was feeling mega stressed out, that she really craved it.

But even if she had been willing to break her streak against it – and she’d actually had some cigarettes on her – she could hardly have lit up on the end of the pier when she was supposed to be staying out of sight. So instead, she had to lean against some old damp crates, breathing boring clean air. Well... As clean as it could be in an industrial Japanese city.

“Ryou!” said an urgent voice in her ear suddenly. Michael was the only one who seemed to call her by her first name. “Find Haruto quick and get out of there!”

“What is it? Is he in trouble?” asked Ryou sharply, automatically looking around, even though she couldn’t see the boathouse from here.

“You both are. It’s Domeki,” Michael explained. “We underestimated him. Get out of there now before he turns up and I’ll explain later.”

Ryou didn’t get the chance to do what she was told. The wooden boards creaked to the side of her and she automatically went for her Firestar. Since they couldn’t rely on Orbo, she’d made sure she had a more reliable alternative to hand. And that creaking wasn’t just from the old pier swaying from the motion of the water underneath it. It was definitely from the weight of footsteps.

Domeki appeared out of the shadows. He looked rather bemused to find Ryou standing there alone. “So you’re one of the hunters they sent after me?”

“What makes you think it’s not just me?” countered Ryou, steadying the Firestar with both hands. They weren’t allowed to actually kill witches unless severely provoked, but he didn’t know that.

“Because the STN would have to be even more stupid than I thought if they believed one hunter would be enough,” said Domeki arrogantly.

“Think again. One wrong move and I won’t hesitate to blow your head off,” Ryou warned. “And FYI, this is a real gun. I know that Orbo doesn’t work against you and these bullets are gonna hurt a hell of a lot more.”

“That’s cute,” Domeki smiled. “Maybe if you tell me where your partner is, I’ll let you live.”

“I’m here on my own,” Ryou insisted. Whatever happened, she wasn’t going to drag Haruto down with her. She would not give away his position.

“You’re wasting your time denying it. I saw two of you on the harbour,” said Domeki. “Get your partner to come down here now and surrender.”

“If I did that, would you spare him too?” Ryou had a feeling that she knew the answer to that.

“I’m not that generous.”

Thought so. “Well, since he never keeps his goddamn com-link on, I couldn’t get him down here even if I wanted to,” said Ryou, almost conversationally.

“So you’re saying you _don’t_ want to,” said Domeki, more as a statement than a question. That could only mean one thing. The time for stalling was over.

“That’s what I’m saying,” Ryou agreed and pulled the trigger.

She aimed for his shoulder, meaning to incapacitate him. The more they stuck to casualties rather than adding to the death toll, the better. But it didn’t matter where she was shooting – Domeki had a weapon of his own and he was ready to use it. Not to mention his reaction times were far greater than her own.

The bullet slammed into a wall of water that Domeki had conjured in between them as a shield. The current of it was moving so fast that it interrupted the bullet’s trajectory entirely and sent it ricocheting off to one side. He was fast. He’d managed to put that strategy into action in the blink of an eye. Or, literally, at the speed of a bullet.

Sound suddenly flooded Ryou’s com-link. Clearly, Haruto had finally noticed that he’d turned his off. And now he’d realised that something big was going down on the pier.

“Hang on, Kazuya, I’m coming!”

“No, don’t! Stay back!” protested Ryou, looking around wildly to see which direction he’d have to come from.

Domeki didn’t even bother looking back to see who Ryou could be talking to. Instead, he concentrated on the threat at hand – the one who was aiming her gun at him a second time. “Bad move, little girl.”

He thrust the wall of water outwards and it hit Ryou at full force, as solid and heavy as a sack of bricks. She couldn’t even try to stand against it. It knocked her clean off the pier and she crashed down into the freezing water.

All she was aware of then was the cold. Inescapable cold... She couldn’t swim. She couldn’t think. She didn’t even know which way was up and which was down. The water was freezing her muscles and making it impossible for her to even attempt to find the surface.

“Kazuya!” shouted Haruto.

Forgetting Domeki entirely, Haruto raced down the pier. It was minus degrees out here. If the water hadn’t been constantly in motion, then it certainly would have been frozen already. And if he didn’t get his partner out of there straightaway, then she was going to be in big trouble.

Domeki didn’t like being ignored. “Forgetting something, boy?”

Another rush of water slammed into Haruto before he could even make it to the end of the pier. The weight of it brought him to his knees. The water was everywhere, smothering him, choking him. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t fight it – how could you fight against water?

He dug his fingers into the wooden boards of the pier, willing himself to focus and desperately trying to think of an escape. But his brain and body were being increasingly starved of oxygen. He could feel himself going light-headed. He was going to drown and he wasn’t even in the water.

Then the weight suddenly lifted and the water dispersed, splashing down around him on the deck. Haruto coughed and spluttered, hastily trying to fill his lungs with air. What had just happened? Domeki had had the upper hand – he could have easily killed him if he’d wanted to.

He looked around and realised that two other people – a man and a woman – had appeared and were now trying to take care of Domeki themselves. Who the hell were these guys? But he shook his head furiously. That could wait. Right now, the most important thing was saving his partner.

Ryou had somehow managed to break the surface of the water, but the cold had sapped all of her energy. All she could do was cling to the post of the pier, shivering and struggling to stay afloat. If she was here much longer, then she was surely going to freeze to the post.

“Hang on, Kazuya. I’ll get you out,” promised Haruto.

He lay down on his front so that he could reach down to her. Ryou had just enough energy left to stretch one hand up towards him. Haruto grabbed her arm firmly with both hands, trying to ignore the cold that was radiating from her skin. It was lucky that she was so much smaller than him – the water seemed determined to drag her back down.

He managed to pull her up onto the pier, finally out of the freezing water. She wasn’t safe yet though. Her skin was stark white and icy to the touch and she was still shaking uncontrollably. “Wh... what... happened?” Ryou managed to stutter over the chattering of her teeth, as Haruto pulled off her sodden coat. “Where’s... D... Do...”

“Somebody else beat us to it,” said Haruto, saving her from struggling to finish her question. His bomber jacket followed Ryou’s coat to the floor before he helped her up into a sitting position.

And they really had been beaten to the punch. Haruto had no idea what had happened whilst he’d been pulling Ryou out of the water, but the mystery man and woman had managed to force Domeki into surrendering. He was now bound and lying on the deck with the man holding a gun to his head.

The man was tall, quite well-built and his brown hair seemed to have a permanently windswept look. The woman beside him was slender and graceful looking with hair a deep shade of red. They were a picture perfect couple, especially next to the younger pair of hunters, who now looked somewhat bedraggled after getting soaked.

As if she knew they were being watched, the woman looked round. Seeing the state that Ryou was in, she left Domeki to her partner and hurried down to join them on the end of the pier. “Is everything alright?” she asked with what seemed to be genuine concern.

“Kazuya got knocked into the water,” Haruto explained, rather obviously.

The woman laid a hand on Ryou’s damp forehead and took a sharp breath. “You’re freezing!” She flicked the earpiece she was wearing – it was similar to the ones used by the STN-J. “Yes, we’ve apprehended the witch. Your hunters are okay, but we need to get the girl into the warm as soon as possible.”

Haruto frowned in confusion. Your hunters? Did that mean she was talking to the STN-J? What was going on? He tapped his own com-link, but there was no response. The gadgets clearly didn’t hold up well against water. He was guessing that Ryou’s would be the same too.

“Who are you?” he asked abruptly, as soon as the woman had stopped talking to whoever was on the other end of her com-link.

The woman smiled. “My name’s Alcina Costa and that’s my husband Lucio. We work with the STN – we just transferred from a branch in Italy.”

“You’re witch hunters?” said Haruto in surprise.

“Y... you’re... the... ones that...” Ryou started to stammer, but couldn’t quite get through the entire sentence – she was shivering too violently.

Alcina’s smile vanished. “We have to go and take the witch to a secure location. Lucio can’t drive and watch him at the same time.” She turned to Haruto in particular. “Your STN are sending out a car for you. Get your partner off the pier and make sure you keep her warm until then or she could catch hypothermia.”

“Right.” Haruto nodded.

Alcina turned on her heel to go and assist her husband, whilst Haruto helped Ryou to her feet with some difficulty. Her legs were shaking so badly that she could barely stand, but he managed to half support, half carry her until they were off the pier and out of the wind. He helped her to sit down on some crates nearer to the boathouse.

Looking down at her, he felt his concern mount. Alcina was right. Ryou was as white as a sheet and her lips were starting to turn blue. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her as close as he could against him, ignoring her sounds of protest. Their ride had better hurry.

He rubbed his hands against her bare arms, trying to create friction warmth like people did in survival shows. It seemed to work somewhat. Ryou’s teeth stopped chattering just enough for her to express that she really wasn’t that comfortable with the situation. At least she was still acting like herself.

Thankfully, the car didn’t take long to arrive. Haruto spotted it pull over not far from where they were sitting. He recognised it as Miho’s car. “Miss Karasuma!” he shouted as he saw her get out. “Over here!”

Miho hurried over to them. “My god, Kazuya, you’re as white as a ghost! Here, let’s get you in the car...”

She and Haruto helped Ryou to climb into the back of the car, where Miho then bundled her up into a blanket so tightly that she couldn’t even move. Miho got into the driver’s seat and put the heating on full blast. Haruto climbed into the back with Ryou and put his arms around her once more. Body heat was supposedly the most effective, after all.

Ryou started to feel a little more human as they drove back to the STN-J building. Not to mention incredibly embarrassed over how she’d had to be so babied by the others. Particularly Haruto. This most definitely broke her personal space limit. But even now, she still couldn’t seem to stop shivering, so she couldn’t afford to complain.

“So do you know what happened with those other hunters?” Haruto asked Miho. “How did they know where to find us?”

“Well, Michael came across some new information on your witch and realised we’d been underestimating him,” explained Miho. “He tried to tell you both to back out, but it was too late by then.”

Ryou remembered him speaking over the com-link and telling them to get out of there. So that was why. But she still couldn’t quite iterate that to the others when she could barely form a straight sentence yet.

“Then both of your com-links went off and he got worried,” Miho continued. “Apparently, Lucio and Alcina had just gotten into town and were already making their way down to the STN-J, so Michael contacted them and asked if they could take a different route to try and find you.”

“They got there at the right time,” Haruto admitted. “Domeki was strong. And we were trying to fight him in the worst place possible. Yet those two still managed to take him.”

“They’re in a higher class than we are,” said Miho. “They didn’t just work at another STN branch – they actually ran their own.”

“Wow. So they’re some of the extra hunters that the chief was talking about, aren’t they?” Haruto remembered aloud.

“That’s right,” replied Miho. “Apparently, they’re transferring two hunters from America and several from the UK too.”

“Things are gonna start getting interesting,” said Haruto happily. “I can’t wait to start taking on all the ghosts and other things that the new administrator was talking about.”

“You couldn’t even handle one witch,” Miho pointed out. “How do you expect to take on things you know next to nothing about?”

“That was just one setback,” Haruto insisted. “Besides, I’ve got Kazuya. She’s a supernatural buff.”

Ryou just rolled her eyes, unable to do much else. She couldn’t wait to get out of this blanket, even though she was grateful for its warmth. She felt too much like she was wearing a straitjacket.

Miho glanced at her in the rear-view mirror and laughed. “I don’t think she’s particularly happy about that.”

“Don’t be silly; of course she is,” said Haruto teasingly, giving Ryou a playful shake.

She couldn’t quite fight a smile. “This... isn’t... working out. I think... we should... see other people.”

Miho laughed and even Haruto couldn’t keep from grinning. “I’m gonna ignore the harsh rejection and focus on how you’re clearly feeling better.”

“Getting... there,” agreed Ryou, still smiling slightly. The words were becoming a little easier to form now that she was getting more feeling back in her face. 

“You’re looking forward to hunting down ghosts and everything too, aren’t you?” said Haruto.

Ryou nodded eagerly. “You... bet.” His comment about her being a supernatural buff had been true – she definitely had an enthusiasm for the paranormal as a whole.

Miho gave her an exasperated look in the mirror. “After what you’ve just been through? You’re ready to take on things that could be even more dangerous?”

“As long as they don’t have control over water, right?” Haruto grinned.

Ryou grinned back and nodded again. “Bring it... on.”


	3. Squabbles and New Faces

"I'm sorry, Miss Kazuya, but it's a total write-off. It'd be cheaper for you to replace it than to pay for the repairs."

"Aww, man."

Ryou couldn't believe that she'd totalled her car. And technically, it hadn't even been her fault. They'd been tailing a new witch, whose craft gave him a limited control over time itself - he was able to create specific time lags over a particular individual or other moving object. This apparently included vehicles.

Ryou had ran a red light during their chase and she swore they would have been able to make it through, had their witch not put a lag on her car and slowed them to a complete standstill in the middle of the junction. No matter how much she'd put her foot down, she'd had no control over it. A speeding cab had then ploughed straight into the driver's side.

The STN-J had managed to get Ryou out of trouble with the police for running the red light and causing a collision - effectively keeping the incident off her insurance records. They'd also footed the bill for the repairs to the cab, but that was as far as they'd been willing to go. Ryou had to take care of her own car herself. Including the costs.

It was all well and good for the mechanic to say that it'd be cheaper for her to get an entirely new car, but she knew that the insurance for it would skyrocket if the company somehow found out what had happened to her old one. The checks they did nowadays were quite extensive and Ryou was sure that with her luck, they would find out, despite the STN-J's best efforts to keep her record clean.

She sighed. "But you can repair it, right?"

The mechanic looked surprised. "We can definitely do the repairs, but it really is going to cost you."

Ryou thought it was nice of him to warn her that it wouldn't be the cheapest option, especially since the money would be going into his pocket. That made her feel just the tiniest bit happier about the amount she was going to have to spend on this. She was definitely going to have to switch to more home cooked meals rather than takeouts this month. And maybe the next few after that too.

"I know," agreed Ryou grudgingly. "But I think this'll be better for me in the long run, particularly when it comes to insurance. And it's a really reliable car - I use it a lot for work, so I'd rather stick with what I know."

"Alright then," the mechanic conceded, though he still seemed sceptical of her decision. "We're going to order quite a lot of new parts, so the repairs could take as long as a month."

"A _month_?" Ryou repeated incredulously. How was she supposed to go about without her car for a whole month?

"We can offer you a courtesy car from our partner company until then," the mechanic suggested. "And I can get it discounted for you since you're going to be paying above our standard repair rate anyway."

Ryou resisted the urge to make a face. She had nothing against the idea of a temporary car - more the possibility of her totalling another one. She wasn't sure that the courtesy car's company would include 'chasing witches' under their insurance policy. And she most definitely couldn't afford to have two cars repaired.

"Thanks, but I'll pass," she said. "I'm sure I can find an alternative means of travel for the next few weeks."

The mechanic shrugged. "Alright then. In that case, I'll need to take your details for these repair forms."

Ryou left the garage fifteen minutes later, feeling considerably grumpy and more than considerably broke. Haruto was waiting outside for her, kicking tracks in the gravel with the toes of his sneakers. He stopped and looked round when he heard the door open.

"Well?" he asked, even though Ryou's face said it all.

"It's a complete write-off," said Ryou gloomily. "It's costing me a bomb and it could take up to a month to repair."

"Damn. That's a bummer," said Haruto sympathetically.

"Tell me about it," agreed Ryou. "The cost's bad enough, but I'm gonna be really stuffed without my car. I don't know what I'm gonna do for work stuff now."

"In case you're forgetting, I do have a bike," Haruto reminded her. "And I have a spare helmet." Ryou made a face at that. She wasn't really a fan of motorbikes. Haruto caught the look she was giving him. "What? I thought you liked being reckless. Everyone knows motorbikes are high on the thrill charts."

"I think I'd rather find my thrills elsewhere," said Ryou dubiously.

"Oh, come on, you act like I'm a terrible driver," Haruto complained. "I promise I'll be extra careful whilst having a passenger."

"Fine," Ryou sighed. It wasn't like she really had another option. She could find a way around getting to and from the STN-J headquarters, but she could hardly direct cab drivers around on actual cases. "But I get to kick you in the shins if I see you make any mistakes."

Haruto laughed. "Then I'll definitely be careful."

Ryou couldn't help but laugh too, though she instantly regretted it. She winced as the movement pulled at her face painfully. She'd gotten a particularly nasty gash along one side of her face from the crash, stretching from her temple down to her jaw line. She counted herself incredibly lucky that she hadn't needed stitches.

Haruto noticed her reaction. "Hey, are you alright?"

"It's fine," Ryou assured him hastily. "I just need to get used to not moving my face too much."

"I guess it's just lucky you weren't hurt worse," said Haruto gravely. "That cab really ploughed into your door."

Besides the wicked face wound, Ryou had escaped with nothing more than a few other cuts and bruises. Haruto was right - she really was very lucky. She was surprised to note a touch of concern in his voice. It made her feel a little uneasy.

"Yeah, really lucky," she agreed awkwardly. She retrieved her cell phone from her pocket. "Anyway, let's see if Miho will still hold up on her promise to pick us back up."

After the accident, they'd had to notify headquarters first thing. They'd been told by the chief inspector to take a cab straight to the hospital to get checked over, whilst the STN-J arranged a tow for Ryou's car to be taken to the garage. Ryou had insisted on it being looked at straightaway so that she'd know the score.

Miho had been kind enough to fetch them from the hospital and then drop them both at the garage, promising to pick them up again afterwards, as long as she hadn't been called away from headquarters. Haruto had insisted on going to the garage with Ryou to keep an eye on her, as she'd come off worse from the crash. That had also made Ryou feel uneasy.

"Wait..." Haruto stayed her hand before she could dial the number. "I've just realised that you live on the other side of town to me."

Ryou realised that he was still thinking of the transport situation. "That's okay," she said with a shrug. "I can just get cabs to and from the STN-J building."

"But that'll cost you a bomb," Haruto exclaimed.

"Haruto, I can't expect you to drive all the way across town just to pick me up and then drop me off," Ryou pointed out, guessing that was what he was getting at.

"Actually, I was gonna suggest you stayed at my place," said Haruto unexpectedly. He then quickly added, "Y'know, just until your car's fixed. I know my place isn't that great, but I don't mind sleeping on the couch."

Okay, that was not what Ryou had expected him to suggest. Alarm bells suddenly started going off in her head as she desperately tried to think of a way out of the situation. "Oh, wow, um, that's sweet of you... But I'm not sure it would be the best idea."

"Look, I just thought it might make things easier for you," said Haruto reasonably. "I didn't mean it in a creepy way or anything."

"Oh, no, I didn't think that!" said Ryou hastily. They were entering into a very awkward conversation and she didn't quite know how to diffuse it.

"Well, since we're friends, I thought it would be okay," Haruto added with a shrug. "So what's the problem?"

Ryou took a deep breath, hating what she was about to say. But she needed to get out of this and fast. "I just feel we should maintain some boundaries. We're co-workers; not friends."

Haruto stared at her in surprise. She knew straightaway that she'd hurt his feelings and she instantly regretted it. A million other possibilities suddenly flooded her head. She could have said she didn't want to leave her mom at home on her own. She could have said she didn't like staying in strange places. So why had she gone and said something that was mean and - as much as she didn't want to admit it - untrue?

"Fine," said Haruto coolly, after what seemed like forever. "Go ahead and ring our other co-worker then and see if she can still do us that strictly work-related favour."

Ouch. Ryou couldn't say she hadn't asked for that. She meekly busied herself with calling Miho, silently begging for an answer. Thankfully, it didn't take long to get one. Miho had already left headquarters, but only to run an errand, so she assured Ryou that she'd pick them up on her way back. To make the situation easier, she already wasn't far from the garage. Ryou was endlessly grateful for that. She and Haruto hadn't said another word to each other the whole time they were waiting.

It was cowardly, but when Miho pulled up, Ryou then took the passenger seat so that she could ride up front. There was still no talking. Miho immediately picked up that the younger team had had some kind of row and wisely didn't say anything either. It was the most agonisingly silent journey that Ryou had ever endured. And it was all her fault.

She hadn't meant to be quite so mean about it. She'd just panicked. She didn't know how else to push people away successfully. She'd always managed to keep her relationships at the STN-J at a strictly professional level. Every time she'd felt she was pushing those boundaries, she'd backed up and given herself the space she needed.

But Haruto had somehow managed to break through those barriers. He'd proved too many times already that he was more comfortable around her than she wanted anyone to be. She was supposed to have kept him at arm's length like everybody else. That was why she'd had to push him back out. Though it didn't mean she couldn't feel guilty about it.

They pulled up at the STN-J building and Haruto let himself out without a word. Ryou made to do the same, but Miho spoke up just as she opened the door. "Hang on, Kazuya... Just shut the door a second."

Ryou had an idea of what the older woman was going to say, but it didn't mean she necessarily wanted to get into it. She reluctantly closed the door again and slouched back in her seat. "What?" she asked defensively.

"You know what," said Miho. "Have you and Sakaki fallen out?"

"No," Ryou lied, as if the idea was ridiculous.

"I'm not stupid, Ryou," said Miho reproachfully. Ryou knew she was serious if she was first-naming her. "You don't have to talk to me about it. But you are going to have to resolve things with your partner if you want to be in a job like this."

Ryou remained silent. Eventually, she just got out of the car and headed into the STN-J building herself, still without saying anything. She hated that Miho was right. Why had she gone and gotten herself into this mess?

**XXX**

Later that night, Ryou found herself thinking the same thing yet again. With Michael's super tech skills, he'd managed to put them back on track of their time-controlling witch, Ren Aikawa. Which was why they were trekking through some honest-to-god woods at a ridiculous hour in the cold.

Ryou wrapped her coat tightly around herself. Why couldn't they get a witch who liked to hang out somewhere warm for a change? Aikawa had tried to lead them off his trail, which probably explained the woods, but with Michael's help, they'd managed to find the right one again. Plus having four sets of eyes and ears certainly made tracking a little easier.

When Ryou had entered headquarters earlier that day, she'd been hoping to hide in a corner by herself for a while to think things over. Instead, she'd been summoned by Kosaka, along with Haruto - just to add to the icy atmosphere - to meet the new team of hunters who had transferred in from Britain.

That was why she and Haruto were following two other hunters as they navigated round the trees in the dark. Ryou had thought that the mood between them wouldn't be as awkward with other people there, but instead, it seemed to just serve as a reminder that they still weren't talking to each other.

The new hunters had introduced themselves simply as Dark and Lithium, with no indication as to whether they were real names or aliases. Without thinking about it, Haruto had muttered to Ryou, "Dark and Lithium? Are they for real?" When he'd seen Ryou's face light up, he'd then remembered that he was still annoyed with her and added, "Forget it."

Then later that night, Ryou had been tempted to tease Haruto about the arrival of the new team. He'd been grumbling before that he still didn't have another male hunter on his side - Lucio was a married man; he was smart enough to always side with Alcina - and now he had two new boys to play with. But Ryou had to remind herself that Haruto didn't want to talk to her.

It didn't take long for it to become obvious that it was a moot point anyway. Ryou doubted that Haruto would want to be teaming up with Dark and Lithium. So far, the new hunters had barely said a word to them. They'd just whisper and occasionally giggle amongst themselves. It was totally creepy. Ryou could see from Haruto's discomfort that he thought the same.

It was a shame she'd had to go and spoil things. If she'd been able to gossip to Haruto about them, then it would have lightened the mood a little. But instead, they had to move through the woods in silence, following the platinum blonde and the raven head that they could barely even see in the dark. Neither of the new hunters wore com-links. Instead, Lithium had a large pair of bumblebee headphones clamped over his ears.

All Dark had said about it when he'd seen Ryou's eyebrows raise was, "He likes to hunt to a beat." Definitely creepy.

When Ryou couldn't stand the silence any longer, she eventually spoke up. "So are we sure we're not just on a wild goose chase here? We've been trekking through these woods for a while now and still haven't seen or heard anything."

"Oh, he's here alright," replied Dark, without looking back.

"These woods reek of witch," Lithium agreed, who up until now hadn't given any indication that he could even hear them over the music buzzing through his headphones.

Ryou wasn't entirely comfortable with the way he'd phrased his answer. He could smell witches? Like a gun dog or something? "So, err, are you guys craft-users?" she asked, trying to sound casual as she stepped carefully over a large, twisted tree root.

Dark actually turned back at that. He smiled, flashing white pointy teeth at her. "You'll have to wait and see."

Okay, Ryou was officially creeped out. She reverted to walking in silence again and fell back into step with Haruto. Maybe Dark and Lithium had been vampires in another life or something. That would explain the air of mystery and general creepiness about them. Or maybe Ryou had just watched one too many bad horror movies.

The woods opened out into a hollow. The dispersing of the trees actually allowed some moonlight to shine through, illuminating the ground better. If anything, the effect was more eerie than comforting. Ryou had gotten fed up of traipsing through the woods, but now, she felt herself slip into high alert mode. They may have been able to see better, but they were sacrificing their cover for it.

They slowly made their way further out into the hollow. Ryou then jumped as something cracked somewhere behind her. They all turned to see Ren Aikawa appear out of the shadows, holding a gun in plain sight. They carefully, but efficiently formed a semi-circle around him. They may have had an advantage in numbers, but they still couldn't account for Aikawa's craft. And once again, Orbo seemed to prove ineffective against him.

Dark and Lithium were both armed with real guns, which they'd already drawn. Ryou steadied her Firestar too. Haruto was the only one who didn't have anything besides his Orbo gun. Maybe she'd have to help him try and get licensed for a real, bullet-shooting gun after all.

"Why do witches all suddenly carry guns now?" Haruto complained, forgetting his previous stubborn silence.

Ryou actually wished he'd still kept his mouth shut. He was already the obvious weak link by not being armed with an actual gun. Why did he have to go and draw even more attention to himself? Aikawa seemed to be thinking the same thing.

He smiled dangerously. "Well, I can't speak for the others like me, but personally? I think there's nothing more fascinating than seeing a speeding bullet in slow motion. Here, allow me to demonstrate."

He aimed the gun at Haruto and pulled the trigger. It was like watching a scene frame-by-frame. A cloud of powder burst from the gun as the bullet left the barrel. Ryou's brain was still going at a million miles an hour, but her body just wouldn't react at anywhere near the same pace.

Every one of her limbs felt as if they were full of lead. It was like she was trying to push every movement through a thick, unforgiving sludge. Nobody else was moving either. Ryou knew that Aikawa was using his craft on everyone, immobilising them all to an almost complete standstill.

Every cell in her brain was screaming at Ryou to jump in front of the bullet - the signals just weren't reaching the rest of her body fast enough. She knew she wouldn't be able to do anything but stand and watch the bullet inevitably hit Haruto.

The next thing she knew, Dark had suddenly pushed past her. He used the barrel of his own gun to knock the bullet clean out of the air, then spun on his heel and shot a hole through Aikawa's thigh. Aikawa screamed in pain and crumpled to the floor, his power lifting as his concentration was broken.

Ryou was suddenly able to move again as time rapidly sped back up to normal. But she wasn't prepared for it - the movement she'd already started in slow motion then seemed to fast forward and she found herself diving to one side before her brain could catch up. Still not ready to even try and right herself, she hit the cold ground hard, smashing her arm against the solid dirt and stone.

Aikawa was still screaming, though now in rage at Dark, as he poorly attempted to pull himself up on his injured leg . "You bastard! How did you break my time lag? I swear to god I'll kill you, I'll..."

Lithium clubbed him hard over the back of the head with the butt of his gun, effectively silencing him as he slumped to the floor once more. "I could barely hear my music over your whining," he told the limp form irritably.

Dark flashed those white teeth at Ryou again, who Haruto had automatically helped to her feet without thinking about it. "Nice dive."

Ryou couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. "Thanks, but it felt more like a fall to me."

"What were you hitting the deck for anyway? He wasn't aiming at you," Haruto grumbled, after reminding himself again that he was still annoyed with her. It didn't help that he also wasn't happy that he'd been rendered useless by a witch yet again.

"I thought I'd just be prepared," Ryou replied sarcastically. She knew it was her fault that Haruto was mad at her, but she'd never really been one to not bite back.

"I'd be a little nicer, boy. She was trying to take that bullet for you," Dark revealed, though he seemed quite amused by their little squabble. People were so interesting sometimes. Seeing the look of surprise on Haruto's face, he added, "She started that dive before time caught back up. That was why she couldn't then control it."

Haruto fell silent at that. Ryou barely even noticed - she was too busy staring at Dark. "How did you know that?"

"I see things a little... faster than most," Dark answered uninterestedly. He was now inspecting his gun for scuff marks from Aikawa's bullet.

"You have a craft, don't you?" Ryou realised. "That's why you were still able to move."

Lithium actually laughed for the first time at that. "Oh, ol' Speedy Gonzalez has a craft alright."

Dark grinned. "Yeah, I guess you could say my speed neutralised the effects of our witch's craft. On me anyway."

"Why do you think your director insisted on putting us on this case with you?" Lithium pointed out.

"So you didn't need us at all, did you?" said Haruto incredulously. "You knew you had a secret weapon all along."

Dark shrugged. "Eh, you were good for distraction purposes..."

"Oh, great; nice to know I can be of use."

Lithium nudged Aikawa's unconscious form with the toe of his boot. "Anyway, we'd better concentrate on getting this guy out of the woods. We won't be getting a van down here."

"Alright," agreed Dark. "I'll get the head and you can get the legs."

"But I always get the legs! You get the legs this time."

"How about I race you for it?"

Lithium sighed. "Oh, forget it; I'll get the legs..."

Ryou couldn't help but smile to herself. Maybe these two weren't so bad after all. Haruto was clearly thinking along the same lines, because he tentatively suggested, "Err, do you guys need any help?"

Dark and Lithium hoisted Aikawa off the floor between them, seemingly without any difficulty, considering that neither of them were very tall. "Nope, we got it," they chorused in unison. Or maybe they were still a little creepy.

"You guys go on ahead and call us a ride so we can get rid of this guy," said Lithium.

"We'll give you some privacy to kiss and make up," Dark added with another flash of teeth.

Ryou rolled her eyes. Or maybe they were just a pair of idiots. "Whatever. Let's go, Haruto."

They started trudging back the way they'd came, leaving Dark and Lithium with the unconscious witch. "I didn't realise taking bullets for your co-workers was in the job description," Haruto commented.

"If it was, then I'd quit," said Ryou lightly, ignoring the jibe and concentrating on rubbing her elbow. She really wished she'd had more time to prepare for her landing. She was sure she must have chipped something.

Haruto noticed and went quiet again for a few minutes, before eventually confessing, "I'm sorry. I've been really crappy to you today, yet you were still willing to take a bullet for me."

Ryou flushed slightly. Yeesh, it sounded so dramatic when it was put like that. She may have had good intention, but all she'd really ended up doing was falling over. Well... That was how it would have looked anyway. At least to everyone other than Dark, apparently.

"That didn't really change anything. And it was my fault in the first place. I said something to you that was really unfair and that..." Ryou paused. Miho's words from earlier flashed through her mind again. _You have to resolve things with your partner if you want to be in a job like this_. "And that I didn't really mean. So I'm sorry too."

"Then... why did you say it if you didn't mean it?" Haruto asked, confused.

Ryou frowned to herself, unsure how to answer. She couldn't really get into the issue with him without breaking that no-trust rule that had caused all the trouble in the first place. "I don't know - I really wasn't thinking. I've just always had a thing about trying to keep my work and my personal life separate. I mean it when I say that it's my issue though. You honestly haven't done anything wrong."

It sounded like a terrible excuse and she didn't expect Haruto to buy it at all, but he could actually see that, whatever exactly the issue was, she didn't want to go into it and that he shouldn't push her to. At least not yet anyway. They'd only been working together for a few months after all. There was still time for that later on, if she ever opened up more.

So instead, he surprised her by smiling. "So when you say you didn't mean it... That means we are friends, right?"

Ryou couldn't help but laugh. He really never gave up. And this time, she couldn't stop herself from giving in. She held out her hand for a fist bump. "We're not just friends - we're partners."

Haruto grinned and happily returned the fist bump. "Even better."


End file.
